Baby trainer



p 9, 1958 L. NIKA ETAL 2,850,744

BABY TRAINER Filed June 8, 1955 ATTORNEY United States Patent BABYTRAINER Louis Nika and Claire M. Nika, North Plainfield, N. J.,

assignors to Jiffy Products, New York, N. Y., a corporation of NewJersey Application June 8, 1955, Serial No. 514,023

Claims. (Cl. 4-239) The present invention relates to baby trainers andmore particularly to deflectors for use with infants seats or trainersof the collapsible or non-collapsible types.

The present application is a continuation-in-part of our co-pendingapplication Serial No. 183,061 filed September 2, 1950 now Patent No.2,712,653, dated July 12, 1955.

It is the general object of the invention to provide a simple andinexpensive deflector for infants trainer toilet seats and the like,which is pivotally mounted at the forward portion of theseat, andpreferably in a suitable recess and can be rotated into operativeupright position in which it is straddled by the legs of the infant; andin addition to its normal function, acts also to prevent slipping of theinfant from the seat, the deflector being rotatable in the oppositedirection into inoperative position.

More specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide apivotally mounted deflector which cannot be removed by the infant, butcan be removed by an adult for cleaning or replacement, the deflectornormally forming a permanent part of the seat, so that it cannot bemisplaced or lost.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a deflector of thetype indicated which is made of plastic material, can be cheaplymanufactured by injection molding and which is sufliciently flexible andresilient to enable it to be removed from or inserted into a recess orother provision in the seat for receiving the deflector.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a deflectorwhich can be pivotally mounted on a trainer seat by means of a simplepin and hole or slot hinge.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing detailed description taken together with the accompanyingdrawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a deflector constructed in accordancewith the invention;

Fig. 2 is a section through the deflector showing a modified form ofhinge connection; while Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail showing anotherform of pivotal mounting of the deflector on the trainer seat.

Referring to the drawings, the forward portion of the baby trainer seatis shown fragmentarily at 1, there being provided a recess 2, as shownin Fig. l. The recess is bounded by dependent side flanges 3 and a frontflange 4 of the trainer seat which is preferably made of plastic sheetmaterial. At the bottom of the flanges 3 there is provided a ledge 5 fora purpose which will be described hereinafter.

Pivotally mounted within the recess 2 and fn'ctionally engaging theflanges 3 is a deflector 6 which is composed of a plate-like top portion7 and depending ears or sides 8.' A

The top portion of the deflector as viewed in Fig. 1 is preferably ofarcuate shape as shown, and the top portion of the deflector curvesgradually into the plane of the free bottom edges of the sides 8, asindicated at 9.

The deflector is pivoted upon the flanges 3 by way of a hinge 10 whichcan be provided in various ways. Thus, there may be employed a snapfastener whose female elements are secured within the flanges 3, whilethe male ICC elements. We prefer, however, to employ a simpler type ofhinge construction consisting merely of a lug orpin 11, as shown in Fig.3 which is received within openings 12 in the flanges 3 of the seat. Thelugs or pins can be constituted of the male element of a snap fastener.

When the deflector is swung into upright position, as shown in Fig. 1,its movement can be limited to the vertical position either byengagement with the flange 4 of the seat or with the ledges 5.Similarly, when the deflector is swung downwardly into the inoperativeposition, its downward movement can be limited by the ledges 5, so thatit remains in the plane of the seat, i. e., its top surface is flushwith the top of the seat. The position of the deflector flush with thetop of the seat is particularly desirable with collapsible trainers, asthe deflector then does not interfere with the complete collapse of thetrainer nor with lifting of the collapsed trainer into position againstthe cover of the seat or against the wall at the rear of the toiletbowl; that is, the center of gravity of the collapsed trainer can bebrought to a position rearwardly of the hinge connection (not shown) ofthe trainer by which it is swung rearwardly against the raised cover ofthe toilet bowl, or against the wall of the bathroom, as shown in ourabove-mentioned patent. However, the ledges 5 can be omitted and thedeflector allowed to swing through into inoperative position.

Fig. 2 shows a modification in which the hinge of the deflector isarranged adjacent to the top plate 7, and also adjacent to the edges ofthe sides 8 of the deflector. By this eccentric position of the hinge orpivot, the edges 13 engage the front flange 4 of the seat when thedeflector is brought into inoperative position with its top plate flushwith the top of the seat 1, as indicated in dot and dash lines in Fig.2.

The sides of the deflector oppose suflicient resistance to flexing, sothat they cannot be removed by the child; but they can be flexed by anadult sufflciently to enable the deflector to be removed for cleaning orpossible replacement. As will be readily appreciated, the deflector isnormally a part of the seat and is not removed therefrom, so that itcannot be lost or misplaced. It will be understood that the constructionof the seat itself forms no part of the present invention and may bethat disclosed in our above-mentioned patent or of any otherappropriateconstruction.

We claim:

1. A seat structure for baby trainers, comprising a seat having acentral opening and a recess at'the forward portion thereofcommunicating with said opening, and a deflector of approximatelychannel cross-section at the lower portion thereof when viewed in theupright position and pivotally mounted within the recess and adjacent tothe forward end of the recess, said deflector being movable into uprightposition in which it extends a substantial distance above the top of theseat, the inner surface of the deflector then facing the centralopening, the deflector being rotatable rearwardly into inoperativeposition within the recess, its outer surface then providing acontinuation of the upper seat surface substantially in the plane of thelatter, the deflector being open at its bottom and presenting a smoothinner surface free of obstructions down to such bottom end when inupright position, whereby the flow of liquid down the inner surface ofthe deflector is unimpeded, the sides'of the deflector being resilientand being sprung toward each other so as to frictionally engage thesides of the recess.

2. A seat structure as defined in claim 1, wherein the seat is of moldedplastic material and wherein the side 3 walls of the recess are providedwith a ledge at the bottom edge thereof in position to be engaged by thebottom edge of the side walls of the deflector to limit the rearwardmovement of the latter to its inoperative position.

3. A seat structure as defined in claim 1, wherein the bottom portion ofthedefiector extends beyond the hinge means for such a distance that inthe inoperative position of the deflector its central wall fills therecess up to the forward edge of the latter, the hinge means being 10cated so close to the forward edge of the recess that such edgeconstitutes a stop for the deflector as the latter is swung forwardlyinto its operative position.

4. A seat structure for baby trainers, comprising a seat having acentral opening and a recess at the forward portion thereofcommunicating with said opening, the forward edge of the recess beingspaced from the forward edge of the seat and the intervening portion ofthe seat being continuous with the rest of the seat and flush therewith,and a deflector having a central wall and side walls and being' ofapproximately channel cross-section at the lower portion thereof whenviewed in the operative position, the central wall of the deflectorcurving at the top thereof into the plane of the free edges of its sidewalls, and hinge means for pivotally supporting the side 4 walls of thedeflector upon the side walls of the recess, the deflector beingswingable rearwardly into inoperative position, and the hinge meansbeing so disposed that in such inoperative position the central wall ofthe deflector lies in the plane of the top surface of the seat so as toform a continuation thereof.

5. A seat structure as defined in claim 4, wherein the bottom edge ofthe deflector, in its operative position, extends to susbtantially thebottom edge of the side walls of the recess, the deflector being hingedso closely to the forward edge of the recess, that when it is swungrearwardly into inoperative position, its bottom edge extendssubstantially to the forward edge of the recess.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,623,994 Buchsbaum et a1. Apr. 12, 1927 1,628,830 Eastburn May 17, 19272,145,143 Trecartin Jan. 24, 1939 2,494,813 Hughes Jan. 17, 19502,545,598 Barnes Mar. 20, 1951 2,686,320 Feldstein Aug. 17, 19542,717,717 Busch Sept. 13, 1955

